10 dead after church roof collapses in Mexico

As many as ten people have died following a roof collapse at a church in Mexico on Sunday, as per local authorities, The New York Times reported.

The Roman Catholic church’s roof collapsed during Sunday Mass in Ciudad Madero, an oil-refining city on the Gulf of Mexico. Among the youngest victims were three children, including a 1-and-a-half-year-old boy.

As per the Diocese of Tampico, the roof collapsed during a collective baptism. As a result, about 60 people were injured, and 23 of them remained hospitalized on Monday morning, the Tamaulipas State security spokesman’s office said.

Officials said that about 100 people were inside the Santa Cruz church at the time of the collapse.

A survivor, Josefina Ramírez, said in a post on Facebook: “I felt I would not be able to see my beautiful family again. I cannot explain how we got out.”

Ramírez later told The New York Times that her 3-year-old goddaughter and the rest of her relatives survived the roof’s collapse.

Survivors used chairs to break windows in order to get out, according to local news reports.

The rescue work had concluded by Monday morning and no more casualties were expected, said Jorge Cuéllar, the Tamaulipas State security spokesman, in an interview.

“I’m a faithful believer that we all die at the time that God decides,” the Rev. Ángel Vargas, the priest who was delivering mass at the time that the roof collapsed, said in televised comments. “Some are now gone and others of us remain,” he added. “Those who are gone, rest in peace. Those who remain, we’ll surely suffer the rest of our lives.”

It was not immediately clear why the church’s roof collapsed.

“Experts are going to come in to determine the reasons this unfortunate accident occurred,” Cuéllar said. “One can infer that it is because of lack of maintenance. However, what is important and official is the report to be made by the experts.”